The present invention is directed toward a base for a laptop computer.
Laptop computers are portable computers that generally operate from either external or portable power sources. Conventional laptop computers typically have a base pivotally connected to a display housing. The base typically includes a primary input device, such as a keyboard, and a secondary input device, such as a computer mouse, roller ball or touch pad. The display housing typically includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) or other type of display. To access the keyboard and the display, a user positions the base on a surface (e.g., the user""s lap or a fixed surface) and opens the computer by pivoting the display housing away from the base. To close and easily transport the computer after use, the user pivots the display housing toward the base and secures the housing to the base.
In conventional laptop computers, the base typically has a small, flat lower surface that rests on the user""s legs or another surface when the computer is in use. One drawback with such a conventional laptop computer base is that it may be uncomfortable to use. For example, the small lower surface distributes the weight of the laptop computer over a relatively small area of the user""s legs. Furthermore, it may be difficult or awkward to support the computer on the user""s lap. For example, to adequately support the computer on the user""s lap, the user""s legs must be squeezed together to provide a platform for the base. Such a leg position is generally uncomfortable and difficult to maintain for long periods of time. Thus, users are likely to shift either the computer or their legs in a manner that disrupts operation of the computer or increases the likelihood that the computer may fall from their laps.
Another drawback with the conventional laptop base is that it is difficult to balance the base on the user""s legs. For example, because the laptop base generally contacts only a small portion of the user""s legs, the laptop computer may be easily dislodged from the user""s lap. Furthermore, because the base is typically made from a hard, smooth plastic, the laptop computer may slide off the user""s lap, and damage the computer and/or data stored on the computer. Such a conventional laptop computer may be particularly likely to slide from the user""s lap when it is used in airplanes, buses or other cramped and crowded environments where the computer and/or the user may be jostled.
The present invention is directed toward laptop computers and bases for laptop computers. In one embodiment, the laptop computer has a base and a display portion coupled to the base to move between a closed position and an open position. The base may have an upper surface with a keyboard and a lower surface opposite the upper surface. The lower surface has a forward edge for facing a user, a rear edge opposite the forward edge, and at least one depression extending between the forward and rear edges. The depression is concave relative to the lower surface to receive at least one of the user""s legs when the base is positioned on the user""s lap. In a further aspect of the embodiment, the lower surface may have two spaced apart depressions to receive both of the user""s legs.
The depressions in the lower surface may have several configurations. For example, in one embodiment, the depressions diverge apart from one another as they extend from the forward edge to the rear edge. In another embodiment, the depressions converge toward one another as they extend from the forward edge to the rear edge. The depressions may be shaped to engage both the upper and side surfaces of the user""s legs, and the surface in the cavities of the depressions may have a rough texture, skid-resistant materials, or compressible materials to inhibit slippage between the user""s legs and the base.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, the laptop computer includes first and second support members connected to the base. Each support member is movable relative to the base between a stowed position and an unstowed position, and each support member has an engaging surface extending outwardly from the base in the unstowed position to engage one of the user""s legs. The engaging surface may be shaped to engage an upper and/or side surface of the user""s leg. In one embodiment, the support members are pivotally connected to the base and may be stowed against a lower surface of the base, or against a side surface of the base. In another embodiment, the support members may be partially or completely stowed within an aperture of the base. In still a further embodiment, one or both support members may have an input device in an upper surface opposite the engaging surface.